IRS says letter is legitimate in Chico case

CHICO — An IRS letter initially identified as fraudulent by a local accountant is a legitimate letter, an IRS spokesman says.

The letter, sent to a Chico taxpayer, asked for "unified returns," but had no IRS logo on it.

The client took the letter to accountant Randy Johnson of Johnson and Heller in Chico, who took steps to verify its authenticity through the IRS.

His office was told through an IRS "practitioner's hotline" that the IRS had no evidence of the letter number in its database, and the wording used in the letter would not have been used by the IRS, Johnson told the E-R Wednesday.

After calling the phone number used in the letter, Johnson became skeptical because the IRS revenue officer on her voice mail asks callers to leave their identification number because she is out in the field and hard to reach.

IRS spokesman David Tucker told the E-R Wednesday the letter was legitimate, but the field rep should not have asked callers to leave their identification number on a phone recording.

He added that any taxpayer with a question about the legitimacy of an employee should ask for a badge number or a letter and then call the IRS toll-free number to check.

The IRS number for questions is 1-800-829-1040 for individuals and 1-800-829-4933 for businesses.

There is an IRS office at 1395 Ridgewood Drive in Chico, but only for face-to-face discussions. It is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, but closed 12:30-1:30 p.m.